The present invention relates to a control device for a docking station, and more particularly, to a device for controlling the transmission of data between a docking station and a portable computer based on power supply states of the docking station and the portable computer, and a connection state between the docking station and the portable computer.
Generally, a portable computer can be operated in remote locations since it uses a battery as a source of operating power. Portable computers are typically compact and easy to carry, and provide a large data processing capacity. Changes in technology, however, have placed an increased demand on portable computers to process information quickly, thereby requiring the battery of the portable computer to provide greater power capacity. The power necessary to expand the functions of the portable computer is often provided through a docking station. That is, a docking station can be used to expand the functions of a portable computer to include those functions conventionally provided from a desk top computer.
A conventional docking station for expanding the functions of a portable computer is disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 5,283,714 entitled Docking Apparatus For A Portable Computer issued to Tsai et al. on Feb. 1, 1994. Tsai et al. '714 discloses a docking apparatus having a release mechanism that can provide a uniform force for pushing the portable computer away from the docking station so as to disengage a connector of the portable computer from a connector of the docking apparatus. While this type of conventional art provides advantages in its own right, I note that it fails to adequately address how internal components of the portable computer and the docking station can be protected from leakage currents.